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Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers

(Guilford Co.) UNCG – North Drive Childcare Center

The UNC-G Child Care Education Program North Drive location would like to naturalize the area around their existing primary pathway and add settings for gathering and outdoor play and learning.  North Drive’s first priorities are to install a low deck, a gathering circle with boulders, balance logs, and a porch swing and bench. 

This site has a large tree, which shades a good portion of the outdoor learning environment already, but shade is still an issue around the perimeter of the site.  North Drive is planning to plant 9 small trees to provide shade to the settings and components above and naturalize the space.

Address: 310 McIver Street, Greensboro, NC 27412

Phone Number: (336) 334-5810

County: Guilford
Local Partnership: Guildford County Partnership for Children

NC Star Rating: 5

Capacity: 50

Schematic Master Plan (2020)

Before Renovation (2019)

Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers

(Guilford Co.) UNCG – Curry Childcare Center

UNC-G Child Care Education Program – Curry Building provides childcare on UNC-G’s campus.  The existing infant space at this location is not connected to the building.  In order to make it easier for teachers to spend time outdoors with infants, the new infant space is located immediately off of the infant door.  The door opens up onto a low deck with a shade sail for sun protection.  Two other shade sails cover the rest of the area.

This new infant area is located entirely on existing concrete.  Raised beds provide opportunities to naturalize the space and one is large enough for a small tree, for more shade.  Two benches are built into the raised beds, making the most of limited space.  Artificial turf will be used as a more infant-friendly alternative to the existing concrete.

Address: 1000 Spring Garden, Greensboro, NC 27412

Phone Number: (336) 334-5587

County: Guilford
Local Partnership: Guildford County Partnership for Children

NC Star Rating: 5

Capacity: 78

Schematic Master Plan (2020)

Before Renovation (2019)

Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers

(Guilford Co.) UNCG – Brent Woodson Carter Center

UNC-G Child Care Education Program – Carter Center serves children on UNC-G’s campus.  The site has a large concrete area, which the center is planning to convert into a poured-in-place surface with raised beds around the perimeter.  They would also like to add a poured-in-place loop for wheeled toys, with a multipurpose lawn in the center.

In addition to these changes, the center would like to add shade and plantings to their outdoor learning environment.  They are planning to add a shade sail over the future poured-in-place area, which will transform this space into a comfortable outdoor classroom.  They are also planning to plant trees and naturalize the site, with plantings to help absorb water in the low-lying areas.

Play and learning settings will form the perimeter of the space.  Their immediate plans are to install an earth play area and add natural loose parts.

Address: 117 McIver Street, Greensboro, NC 27412

Phone Number: (336) 334-5376

County: Guilford
Local Partnership: Guildford County Partnership for Children

NC Star Rating: 5

Capacity: 13

Schematic Master Plan (2020)

Before Renovation (2019)

Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers

(Guilford Co.) Macedonia Child Development Center

Macedonia Child Development Center, located in Greensboro, NC, hopes to start serving infants soon, in addition to the infants and preschoolers, who currently attend the center.  They would like to implement a separate infant area close to the building.  The infant space would include a low fence, raised beds around the perimeter for herbs and perennials, and a low deck with pergola for shade. 

Their long-term plans are to create a mix of active and quiet settings.  Naturalizing the current toddler/twos space to provide shade and play and learning opportunities is a short-term priority, since the space currently has no shade or plants.  In addition to planting trees, their immediate plans are to add a primary pathway loop onto their current pathway, a fruit and vegetable garden, a sand play area and a water play area.

Address: 401 Lake Ave, High Point, NC 27260

Phone Number: (336) 885-0777

County: Guilford
Local Partnership: Guildford County Partnership for Children

NC Star Rating: 5

Capacity: 180

Schematic Master Plan (2020)

Plan subject to modification*

Before Renovation (2019)

Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers

(Guilford Co.) Willow Oaks Child Development Center

Willow Oaks Child Development Center in Greensboro, NC has an infant/toddler space in a courtyard, surrounded by a building on three sides.  The entire space is currently poured-in-place surface.  The center’s first priority is to remove the poured-in-place, except for a narrow strip on the edge of the concrete under the breezeway.

The design goals were to diversify and naturalize the outdoor learning environment.  Willow Oaks Child Development Center plans to add a primary pathway with a multipurpose lawn and relocated water table in the center, a low deck with bench edge, and fruit and vegetable garden.  In addition to these settings, perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees will turn this space into a living landscape.

Address: 1815 Everett Street Greensboro, NC 27401

Phone Number: (336) 370-4473

County: Guilford
Local Partnership: Guildford County Partnership for Children

NC Star Rating: 5

Capacity: 93

Schematic Master Plan (2020)

Before Renovation (2019)

Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers

(Guilford Co.) Wishview Children’s Center

Wishview Children’s Center, located in Greensboro, NC plans to improve their infant and toddler spaces.  Currently, their infant area is covered in artificial turf, and they would like to replace this with an at-grade deck, planters, and small trees for shade. 

One of their goals for their toddler spaces is to add a primary pathway.  They are planning to relocate an existing piece of play equipment, which the primary pathway will encircle.  In order to increase the amount of naturalized space in their outdoor learning environment, the center is planning to move the fence back to include some of the natural wooded space just beyond their fenceline in their outdoor learning environment.  In addition to these changes, they are also planning to add a sand play area, water play area, and grass maze around the perimeter of their outdoor learning environment.

Address: 1001 Meadowood Street, Greensboro, NC 27609

Phone Number: (336) 854-0421

County: Guilford
Local Partnership: Guildford County Partnership for Children

NC Star Rating: 5

Capacity: 99

Schematic Master Plan (2020)

Before Renovation (2019)

Play and Public Place: Making Cities Child Friendly in the Post Pandemic World

About the Event / Webinar

International Webinar Series by ACE, IPA-India, IPA World, and UNICEF.

NLI’s Robin Moore joined speakers from different regions of the world drawn from academics, art, architecture, and planning, play practice, education, to share ideas about improving post-pandemic cities for children, government, and UN agencies.

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Moore CASE STUDIES from Nature Play & Learning Places_v1.6_2015_kidZone, NC Zoo

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Moore CASE STUDIES from Nature Play & Learning Places_v1.6_2015_NaturePlayscape, Cincinnati Nature Center

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